As the title suggests, I am taking the October in fewer than three weeks (I'm not in the US). For the past few weeks, I have been consistently scoring in the low 170s range and broke into high 175+ a few times. However, I had been somewhat complacent because LG was usually my worst section and my raw score breakdowns indicated that as long as I improve my LG, I have a very good shot of scoring above 175. So last week I finally got around to drill Cambridge by type and finished games in pt 1-20.

However, as I took pt 69 and 70, even though I did well on games, my score still remained in the 170-5 range, because RC and LR got noticeably harder. On pt 70 for instance, I got -6 on one LR section (the last two questions I didnt even have time to finish), which had never happened since my earliest prepping days.

This new development really threw me off my study plan. I didnt think pt 60-68 was all that much different from much older tests (1-40), but I as learned through experience, PT from 70 on get quite a bit more difficult on the margins. That is to say, wrong answers choices are less straightforwardly wrong and the harder questions can cost you a good extra 1-2 minutes and these added together make a world of difference in realtime condition.

Here's my prep situation: I have taken 37 prep tests so far (1-8, 22-38, 59-70). I broke down pt 9-21 to drill individual LR and LG sections. I have lately done Cambridge by type LG 1-20.

What I have NOT done is RC specific practice. Nor have I read any books on RC (I did read the LR and LG bibles.) I felt like my RC improved less than I would like since I started. Right now, -2 is a normal day, with some 0/-1's here and there. -3+ if some lapse of focus happens and a passage takes too long. Compared to the early days, I have much fewer -5+'s now but still far from perfect.

Another common drill that I have not done is the Q1-10/15 under 10/15 minutes LR drill.

With fewer than three weeks until test day, what should I do to improve my score? I still have not taken pt 71-84. And I plan to finish them before my exam. My self-diagnosis is that I already have a solid base at this point and I should get back to the fundamentals but with a specific focus on timing.

Any suggestions on what I can do moving forward would be much appreciated.

I am basically in the same boat as you (low 170s, broken 175 a few times), however I am fortunate in that I will not apply until next cycle and thus will test in January.

Anyways, to your question.

This is what I am starting to focus on nowadays and what you should have absolutely nailed down.

1. Know the difference between sufficient and necessary. I thought it was worthless until about a month ago when I figured it out and it is probably saving me 1-2 minutes per section.

2. In RC, get confident. I have found that RC is my weakest section (-2 to -4) and the more confident I am the better I do. This is because I save time on my ACs and have more time for the more difficult questions. If you know you know an RC question, circle it and move on. Just like you do with LR already on those gimme questions where you pre-phrased the answer and move on in 30 seconds.

3. Finish those exams and review the hell out of them. I guarantee there will be some flaws in them that are difficult but will be mimicked in the test you sit for. Get those down and save yourself some time on LR. I have found it useful to write my own reasoning out for why the AC is correct, and why I chose the wrong one. Hell, even on hard questions you should be sure you understand the gaps in logic and writing them out will probably engrain them.

4. Be confident in yourself. You have studied a ton. You have prepared well. Go in on test day with a badass mentality and get that 175+.